Timothy guilfobd



(No M del.)

y T. GUILFO-RD. MANUPAGTURE 0F ARTIGLES PROM PLASTIC MATERIALS.

No.256,476. i PAtentedApAla'J.

'INVENTORA wlTNEssEsw to water in some degree.

UNITED STATES PATENT Ormea.

` TIMOTHY GUILFORD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.`

MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC MATERIALS.

SPECIFICATION fornming part of Letterslatent No. 256,476, dated April 18, 1882.

' Application filed January 18, 1882. (No model.)

city, county, and State of Newv York,have invented certain Improvements in the Manufacture of Buttons and other Articles from Plastic Materials, of which the following is a specification. l Y

This invention relates to the manufacture of buttons, brush-backs, boxes, frames for handmirrors, and other articles from plastic materials that may be molded and consolidated by heat and pressure.

The objectof my invention is, in the 1nain,to provide an article made from pulverized horn and hoof with ahard water-proof face or covering, the said horn and hoof being pervious This face or covering I unite to thebody ormasshomogeneously by heat and pressure.V Another object is toenable me to ornament the button or other article by imprinting or marking on the back of the transparent facing a design which will aphomogeneous mass.

pear through the same and yetbe protected against blemish or damage.

The advantage of this construction is thatI am enabled to employ a water-proof-and hard facing material," as celluloid, or other similar compound of pyroxyline, which is too expensive to be used as the mass of articles of this character. By making the mass ofthe article from pulverized horn and hoof, and covering 'this with a film or thin covering offcelluloid, I

obtain an article having all of the advantages and characteristics of an article made-wholly from celluloid, but much cheaper than one made from that material.. In carrying out my invention I rst take a thin sheet or film of the celluloid or other compound of pyroxylivnemhich sheet maybe either colored in its mass, made in imitation of tortoise-shell, or made transparent. This facing I lay in the die and upon it place the proper quantity of ground horn or hoof to form the mass of the article. I'then submit the mass .to heat and pressure in the usual manner, whereby the whole will be found lunited in one The degree of heat employed must be sufficient to soften'and render plastic the celluloid facing, so that it will coalesce with the horn or hoof under pressure.

The article thus produced will have a complete facing of celluloid,and will be in all essential respects the same as if made from that' material throughout. w

In some cases it is desirable that the article shall be entirely covered with the celluloid film. In that case another sheet or film must be laid on the top ofthe ground horn or hoof in the die and the whole compressed. 4

When it is desired to display an organized' design through the transparent face the facing sheet or lm may have painted or printed upon its back the desired design or ornament,

employing as pigments gold, silver, or colors which will stand theheat employed in consolidating the mass. f

The celluloid employed for the facing sheet or lm maybe the merchantable article wherein the cellulose has been thoroughly and chemically combined with its solvent; or I may employ the material in its raw state,in whichtthe cellulose is intimately mixed but n ot chemically combined with its solvent. In this latter case the combination will be effected under the influence of the heat employed in making the article, and the horn and hoof will absorb the moisture or vapors given OE by the facing materials.

In the drawings which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure 1 represents the face of a button which has a facing of tortoise-shell celluloid, and Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same. Fig. 3 is a face view of a button having a design printed on the back of the transparent celluloid facing before the latter is applied in the manufacture; and Fig. 4 is a sectional View of a case fora hand-mirror, showing the celluloid facing material extended over the en'- tire surface.

The horn or hoof of which the mass of the article is composed is designated by a, and the facing united to forni one therewith is designated by b.

I am awa-re thatit is not new to merely cover articles-as wooden moldings, for examplewith sheets of celluloid but in these there is lof course no union of the two to form one homogeneous mass. i

Iam also aware that colored or ornamental plates or 'pieces previouslyjnolded have been united to a mass of plastic material by heat IOO and pressure. This has been done for thepurpose ot' ornamenting` the faces ot' articles made from plastic materials. My invention differs from this in that my purpose is to provide the article with a hard water-proof' facing of celluloid united homogeneously with the mass in the process of manufacture. I therefore disclaim the. method of' molding articles from plastic materials which consists in first molding the figures or designs in molds or dies, and then placing the part or parts thus formed. in a nishingmold with the proper amount of stock and uniting the whole into one by pressnre, or by heat and pressure combined 5 and I make no claim to articles thus iliade.

I claim as my invention- .1. An articleas a button, for examplethe mass of which is formed from ground horn or hoof and the face from a thin Iilm of celluloid or other pyroxyline compouud,the two be zo ing united by heat and pressure to form one homogeneous mass, substantially as set forth.

2. An article-as a button, for examplethe mass ot' which is composed of ground horn or hoot' and the face of a thin transparent .film 25 ot' Celluloid or other pyroxyline'compoundhav ing a design on its back, and the two being united by heat and pressureto form one homogeneous mass, as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed 3o my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

TIMOTHY GUILFORD.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, ARTHUR G. FRASER. 

